Vista - Attack on Titan x Reader

CHAPTER NINETY: Seabreeze

"What even is the sea, anyway? Like, I know that it's water, but that's it. Not much to go on."

Glancing over to Floch, who had been riding alongside me for the past four hours, I shrugged my shoulders.
"It's not just water. It's a lot of water. I don't know much else, man. If you want an in depth explanation, go ask Armin. He's the resident sea expert."

It had taken us months since the battle of Shiganshina, but we had finally cleared Paradis of pure titans. It felt strange being able to ride without having to be on guard, but I didn't feel free like I had always expected to. Now, knowing what we now knew, I felt more trapped than ever before.

We were now on our way to the one place our troublesome trio had been dreaming of from the start - the sea. Only having read about it in books and hearing Armin rave on about it during meals, I wasn't sure what to expect. It sounded ominous, to me.

Facing forward again, I looked between Levi and Jean, who were both several lengths ahead, and began to chew on the inside of my cheek. I had been trying to steer clear of any intimate moments with the two of them, but it was difficult.

After the night I had shared with Levi, he had left before I had awoken, though he made no effort to avoid me. He was giving me my space, and it had been greatly appreciated, though our fierce relationship had partially recovered. We could throw banter back and forth again, but it wasn't as often as it once had been.

Then there was Jean. He was just always there, ready to talk or lend a hand whenever I needed. Occasionally he would throw in a date invitation, but brushed it off quickly when I voiced my reservations. Still, he never took it badly.

There was just too much going on to try and begin a legitimate relationship. I was a captain now. I had my own unit, and my own responsibilities. On top of that, I still helped out at the orphanage, and made sure to keep Verena Jinn living comfortably, despite her insisting she would be fine.

I had managed to move past Eld, and Reiner, and the death of my biological father, Erwin Smith, but I still had to work on myself. I had barely become a person again, and that was my priority before I tried to tie my life to somebody else.

"You look like a lovesick puppy." Floch broke me from my thoughts with his sudden comment, and I shot him an incredulous look.
"You must need your eyes checked, Forster." I muttered, but I knew it wasn't very convincing.

As much as he had pissed me off once upon a time, Floch and I had actually gotten pretty close since he had fought with me for Erwin's life. He could be a little intense and headstrong at times, but so could I, and he was unbelievably loyal. When we worked in our squadrons, he was my right hand man.

"Yeah, no, sorry, but I'm right. Who is it? I can't choose between Jean and Conny. You're always so close with those two. Some of the Garrison seem to think it's Levi, but come on. You two would kill each other before the end of a first date."

Did I forget to mention he could be mildly annoying?

Glowering, I shifted more in my saddle to show him my annoyance, though his smug expression didn't falter.
"Why would you think I'm with anybody out here? What if I was in a committed relationship?" He knew I wasn't, but it was worth a shot to try and throw him.

"Your right hand doesn't count!" The auburn-haired soldier snorted, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes, kicking my horse into a gallop from a canter to speed ahead.
"Joke's on you, I'm committed to my left!"

It felt good to laugh again, but there was still something so hollow about it. Loss did that to a person, but for once I tried to be positive about things, even though there was the possibility of worse to come.